MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — The Merrill City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 9th to interview six candidates interested in representing the city’s 6th Alder district.
According to a release from City Clerk Bill Heideman, those candidates have been identified, in alphabetical order, as Landis Holdorf, Chad Krueger, Ronald Liberty, Todd Nofsinger, Robert Oemig and Michael Rick, Jr.
According to resumes submitted as part of the application process, Holdorf is a current Deposit and Digital Operations intern at River Valley Bank in Wausau while also pursuing a degree from UWSP. In his letter, he says he is aware of the recent turmoil on the City Council but says he is independent of both groups and is most interested in serving the residents of the District.
Krueger is a graduate of Merrill High School and currently works for Weston Warehousing. He also works with softball boosters in Merrill, both for the high school and YSA.
Liberty retired from Ferrellgas Propane in 2009 where he was a service technician. He attended school in Merrill through grade 11 before graduating from a high school in Michigan. He also served two tours in Vietnam as a Plane Captain in the US Navy on the USS Constellation. He has also served as a street and weed Commissioner in Merrill and has served on three different boards in the Town of Watersmeet, MI.
Nofsinger works for Lincoln Wood Products while also serving as an elected board member for the Merrill Youth Hockey Association and Church Fastpitch Softball Association.
Oemig is an ER technician at Ascension Good Samaritan Hospital and a 2007 graduate of Merrill High School. He boasts a 2001 International Student Ambassador through a cultural exchange program as some of his political experience.
Finally, Rick Jr is a 15-year employee of the Lincoln County Highway Department who also served one term as a Town of Merrill Supervisor. He has also served on the board for the Lincoln County Humane Society.
One of those six individuals will replace David Sukow, who announced his resignation in August for personal reasons. The seven remaining members of the council will select one of the candidates to finish Sukow’s term, with that candidate then having to run for re-election next spring if they so choose.
Sukow was one of the Alders that was targeted by this summer’s recall effort, but his name appeared on the ballot unopposed. Two weeks ago Mayor Derek Woellner told WSAU news that his resignation was not related to the recall effort.
